1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to defining surface properties in a virtual world. In particular, it relates to facilitating interaction between surface properties in a controllable way.
2. Description of the Related Art
Computer aided design and computer gaming are converging fields in the sense that both use an increasingly common underlying framework to create realistic renderings of a virtual world. Objects are typically represented in a scene tree, that defines a hierarchical set of relationships between objects, constituent objects, and vertices, of which all the objects in a scene are ultimately composed.
As the capabilities of such frameworks increase, and the power of the processing systems that run them also increases, implementation of these capabilities in a manageable way becomes increasingly difficult. Theoretically, such systems are capable of a high degree of realism. However, the provision of such capabilities is no longer a question of science: it has become a problem in complexity management. Furthermore, it is not strictly the case that such systems have to model the physical appearance and other properties of real objects in a natural way. Creative use of such systems relies upon there being provided a user interface that encourages users to explore and create ideas that would be impossible or unlikely in the real world.
Management of the properties of virtual objects is an overwhelmingly complex subject. In the art, this complexity is hidden from the users of design systems so as to ensure that the creative workflow is not interrupted. However, the potential for such systems is thereby considerably reduced.